WHEN Kevin Green asked his school careers advisor in Burry Port whether he could become a millionaire one day, he was told in no uncertain terms to aim lower to avoid disappointment.

But he chose to take the advice of his grandfather, Scott Johnson, who told him he would be able to achieve whatever he wanted.

Following the unexpected death of his twenty-year-old sister Julie, Kevin moved into property investment and is now a 45-year-old multi-millionaire, with a portfolio of 267 properties in Wales, which are thought to be worth around £29 million.

He had never been to Barnstaple when he agreed to take part in a gritty TV show.

But it took him just nine days to decide the people he met there should have a cut of his fortune.

This is The Secret Millionaire, a Channel 4 documentary, where members of the public are sold a secret identity for the stranger in their community.

Each week, a millionaire leaves their luxury life behind to live undercover in a deprived area of the UK — living on a limited budget with no mod-cons and working and volunteering alongside the locals to find individuals and projects they think deserve a share of their millions.

"When I was nominated for the show I said no to begin with," says Kevin. "My granddad told me to never boast when I did achieve success so I kept my head down throughout my career.

"But as time passed I was persuaded that I had the opportunity to bring light into people's lives. One of the nicest things in life is to give back."

His mind made up, Kevin was whisked away to Barnstaple in North Devon to live in a bedsit in a rough part of the community. Given just £64 to feed himself for nine days (just over £7 per day), he trundled down to the local Happy Shopper store to stock up on the only things he could afford — cheap baked beans, noodles and cornflakes.

"In the past I'd just walk into Sainsbury's or Marks and Spencer and put some nice things in my basket," he adds.

"But now I had to actually look at the price of things and get the cheapest food available."

Posing as a dairy farmer who felt isolated and wanted to reconnect with the community, Kevin met and formed a number of special relationships with the people he met during the show.

A rehabilitation centre called the Amber Foundation — which offers young offenders aged between 18 and 30 a second chance and a fresh start in life — was one of the causes Kevin chose to invest in. He spent time working as a volunteer at the centre, where the youngsters told him of their troubled backgrounds and hopes for the future.

"What impressed me the most was the sense of self-worth the youngsters achieved through carrying out all of the daily tasks in the day-to-day running of the foundation, ranging from cooking and cleaning to maintenance and reciprocal coaching.

"On the maintenance teams a resident team leader called Geoff stood out as a rock of strength whom the youngsters turned to for sounding off about their life tribulations."

Kevin also met an IT-mad youngster called Rob who was extremely frustrated with not having modern equipment to work with.

"He was a cheeky chappie with a heart of gold, which typifies the personalities of youngsters at Amber. Rob told me details about his troubled upbringing , some of which he said he had never shared with anyone else in his whole life.

"The trust he placed in me was mind-blowing and I felt very grateful towards my parents for being fortunate enough to have benefited from their guidance whilst I was growing up.

"I remember the anguish I caused my mum and dad at times and could have quite easily gone off the rails had it not been for them. The gift to Amber was the easiest to decide as there was no doubt in my mind that this place was transforming so many lives on so little resources.

"Geoff told me that he wanted for nothing in life except to help others and ' . . . a ride on a mower would be nice'. I picked up on this comment and my gift funded a state-of-the-art treadmill, together with IT equipment and a ride on mower for Geoff."

The second beneficiary was Barnstaple Poverty Action Group, which supports the homeless. Kevin helped out as a volunteer and joined a liaison officer called Julie on her daily routine of getting out and about speaking to homeless people and sofa surfers — people with no permanent address.

"We got up on the first morning met up with a council worker and visited spots where we might find people sleeping rough. I was shocked with what I saw — rough sleepers in makeshift tents which were basically branches bent over with a polythene sheet thrown over. Most of them lived outside of the town.

"They said they had to sleep outside the town because they feared for their safety, often getting their heads kicked in.

"It made me consider what a state our society has got into when a homeless person gets beaten up for no apparent reason."

There were also rough sleepers too afraid to come into town to the soup kitchens for help who Julie visits on a daily basis with food and provisions.

Kevin funded a part-time worker to help Julie train six volunteer workers and has promised the project his ongoing support.

Perhaps the most touching part of the programme came when Kevin visited a children's hospice called Little Bridge House, just outside Barnstaple.

He met with a chaplain called Geoff and helped him prepare a room for a special needs child who was about to come and stay.

"Geoff explained to me how important it was to dress the room in such a way, so that it makes the children feel at home," adds Kevin.

"One of the mums, Louise, introduced me to her daughter, three-and-a-half-year-old Emily. I helped Louise administer Emily's lunch through a stomach tube and began to realise how difficult it is for parents with special needs kiddies."

Geoff introduced Kevin to another mum, Adele, who was there with her daughter, Shannon, aged 12, who suffers from severe Retts Syndrome. The illness means she often has violent fits and could have a heart attack at any time.

"Adele told me that, on average, she got two hours sleep a night because of Shannon's high needs," said Kevin.

"She said she had met Louise through Little Bridge House and the pair had become good friends, helping each other through the tough times.

"The one point that really impressed me was the unconditional time, effort and most importantly love. that Adele showed towards Shannon.

"I asked both mums if they had any wishes. Louise said she would love to take Emily to Walt Disney World in Florida, but said she couldn't afford it. Adele said she had always wished for Shannon to swim with dolphins but felt that the opportunity had been lost because of finance and due to the fact that Shannon's condition was getting worse, so there would be little time left where it would be possible for her to fly.

"Seeing first-hand how difficult it is in the home environment and how Adele did whatever it took to be sure that all of her children were having the best love and care, humbled me hugely. I'm lucky and blessed enough to have three perfectly able children that I cherish and wondered how I would cope if placed in Adele's position."

Kevin asked if he could come back the following day and Geoff showed him the Star Born Room, where the children lay after their death. I had to swallow hard as I had not thought too much about the hospice being where children can die.

"On entering the Star Born Room, an amazing feeling of peace washed over me and as I read messages left by families in the remembrance book I thought of my own experience of losing my sister, Julie. "As a family we never had bereavement support and I know that I had not fully come to terms with the pain of Julie's death. Geoff showed me the chapel and the prayer tree where families had placed notes to their sisters, brothers, sons and daughters that had passed away.

"He could see my pain and spoke with me for what seemed a short time, but was actually ages, on my loss. The words Geoff spoke helped me come to terms with my loss — I only wish my parents had been able to seek comfort from Geoff.

"He told me how he runs a bereavement group for mums and dads, but was limited with funding. I also asked Geoff how he coped with dealing with other people's loss of their children. He said he found it difficult at times although did turn to 'the big man upstairs' when in need."

Kevin donated money to the Little Bridge House sibling and bereavement fund and covered the cost of sending Louise, her husband Ben and family to Walt Disney World in Florida and Adele, her husband Tony, daughters Amber and Taylor- May to Florida for Shannon to swim with the dolphins. "I never realised I would also learn so much about myself," he says.

"The pain I was holding in my heart since the age of 22 after my sister passed away has gone and I have become more grounded. I have found me again.

"And every day, as I look out to sea from my balcony, with the tip of Barnstaple in sight, I smile — for myself, for my Julie, for my dear old grandfather, for the poor old careers adviser and for those around me who are precious."

The Secret Millionaire is screened on Wednesday night on Channel 4 at 9pm.